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Fatal crash fourth in week and a half

An 86-year-old Athens man was killed Wednesday morning when his pickup collided with another truck on Timothy Road, Athens-Clarke police said.

Charles Hawes of Bedford Drive is the fourth traffic-related fatality in a week and a half.

Hawes was driving his pickup north on Timothy Road shortly after 9:30 a.m. when he made a right onto Colleton Drive to turn around, according to police.

He pulled out of Colleton Drive to head south on Timothy Road, driving into the path of another northbound pickup that hit the driver's side of Hawes' truck, police said.

Hawes was taken by ambulance to Athens Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The driver of the other truck, a 26-year-old Athens woman, was treated for unspecified injuries, police said.

Accident reconstruction investigators continued to study the wreck Wednesday afternoon, but it appeared that Hawes was at fault, according to police.

"At this point, based on what witnesses said, it looks like he didn't see (the other pickup) as he was making the U-turn," said Athens-Clarke police Sgt. Don Eckert, a supervisor in the Uniform Division's traffic unit.

The other truck left no skid marks, indicating the driver didn't have time to stop when Hawes turned into the woman's path, Eckert said.

Three other people from Athens were killed on the roads this month.

The first died June 8, when an alleged drunken driver hit and killed 12-year-old Gedera Thomas, who was bicycling on Barnett Shoals Road near Green Acres Shopping Center.

Police charged Joseph Patrick Armstrong, a 22-year-old Gainesville State College student, with DUI and two felonies, first-degree homicide by vehicle and leaving the scene of a fatal wreck.

Two days later, 90-year-old Dycie Schneider crashed into a truck and utility pole on Cherokee Road at Lexington Road in southeastern Clarke County. She died from her injuries June 12.

And Saturday night, a 19-year-old Athens woman was killed by a hit-and-run driver as she walked on Commerce Road.

Police on Wednesday continued to search for the truck that ran down Nayasheika Cooper as she walked with her 3-year-old son to a convenience store up the four-lane road from her house.

Investigators believe the truck may have been a red Nissan King Cab Hardbody 4x4 pickup that would have a broken headlight and other front-end damage on the passenger side.

Anyone with information about the hit-and-run that killed Cooper should call Eckert at (706) 208-1718, extension 226.

Anonymous calls may be made on the Crime Stoppers tip line at (706) 613-3342.